In a vehicle front pillar including inner and outer frame members joined into a substantial tubular shape, a fore portion of the inner frame member is oriented toward the front of the vehicle and has at least one bent portion formed thereon so as to serve as a shock absorbing section. rear portion of the inner frame member is oriented toward the back of the vehicle and has a reinforcing member of a closed sectional structure attached thereto so as to serve as a high-rigidity section. The reinforcing member may have a circular or rectangular cross-sectional shape.
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1. A vehicle front pillar of a substantial tubular shape comprising:
a fore half portion oriented toward a front of the vehicle defining a shock absorbing section of said vehicle front pillar that is deformable to absorb an impact force applied to the vehicle front pillar from ahead of the vehicle; and
a rear half portion integral with the fore half portion and oriented toward a back of the vehicle, said rear half portion having a thickness greater than a thickness of said fore half portion and defining a high-rigidity section of said vehicle front pillar that retains a necessary rigidity of the vehicle front pillar when said shock absorbing section undergoes deformation to absorb the impact force, said high-rigidity section having a closed sectional configuration.
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This is a Division of application Ser. No. 09/725,447 filed Nov. 30, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,790. The disclosure of the prior application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved vehicle front pillar.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle front pillars constitute a very important part of a vehicle body which requires high rigidity. When some obstacle or other external object collides with one or both of the front pillars, the external object is often subjected to a great impact. If the rigidity of the front pillars is reduced to give preference to protection of a possible colliding external object, however, durability of the entire vehicle would be more or less sacrificed. Thus, there has been a demand for more sophisticated vehicle front pillars which can sufficiently alleviate an impact on a possible colliding external object while still retaining their necessary rigidity. Example of such vehicle front pillars giving special attention to alleviation of an impact on a possible obstacle or external object is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication to No. HEI-9-39833.
In the front pillar disclosed in the HEI-9-39833 publication, inner and outer frame members are joined together to form a pillar body of a substantial tubular shape. Here, a low-rigidity shock absorbing panel is attached to the fore surface of the outer frame member, and a resin garnish is attached to the fore surface of the shock absorbing panel. In case an external object collides with the fore portion of the front pillar, the resin garnish and shock absorbing panel are both caused to deform plastically with a substantial cushion effect, to thereby alleviate the impact on the external object.
As noted above, the known front pillar only includes the shock absorbing panel on the pillar body. Namely, in the known front pillar, the impact on an external object colliding with the front pillar can be absorbed merely by the plastic deformation of the shock absorbing panel, and there is no means for absorbing the impact force after the external object reaches the pillar body. Thus, there is still great room for further improvement to sufficiently alleviate the impact on the external object. Namely, although the pillar body affords the necessary rigidity of the known front pillar, it is not designed to alleviate, by itself, the colliding impact on the external object.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle front pillar which can sufficiently alleviate an impact on a colliding external object while still retaining its necessary rigidity.
In order to accomplish the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a vehicle front pillar of a substantial tubular shape, which comprises: a fore half portion oriented toward a front (i.e., in a forward direction) of the vehicle and having at least one bent portion formed thereon so as to serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar; and a rear half portion oriented toward a back (i.e., in a rearward direction) of the vehicle and having a reinforcing member of a closed sectional structure attached thereto so as to serve as a high-rigidity section of the vehicle front pillar.
In the present invention, the fore half portion of the front pillar has at least one bent portion to serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides with the front pillar, the fore half portion of the front pillar can be deformed, with a substantial cushion effect, with the bent portion further bent by the colliding impact force. Such cushioning deformation of the fore half portion can effectively absorb the colliding impact and thereby alleviate the impact on the external object. Further, with the reinforcing member of the closed sectional structure additionally attached to the rear portion of the front pillar, the rear half portion can serve as a high-rigidity section for retaining the necessary rigidity of the front pillar. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar, the rear half portion can be prevented from being deformed by the colliding impact and thereby can retain the shape of the passenger compartment. The reinforcing member may have a circular or rectangular cross-sectional shape.
The present invention also provides a vehicle front pillar of a substantial tubular shape which comprises: a fore half portion oriented toward the front of the vehicle and formed into a thin wall structure so as to serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar for absorbing an impact force applied from ahead of the vehicle; and a rear half portion oriented toward the back of the vehicle and formed into a thick-wall closed sectional structure so as to serve as a high-rigidity section of the vehicle front pillar.
Namely, in the present invention, the fore half portion of the front pillar is formed into a thin wall structure so as serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar. Thus, when an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar, the fore half portion of the front pillar can be deformed, with a substantial cushion effect, with the thin wall structure bent by the colliding impact force. Such cushioning deformation of the fore half portion can effectively absorb the colliding impact and thereby alleviate the impact on the external object. Further, by forming the rear portion of the front pillar formed into a thick-wall closed sectional structure, the rear portion can serve as a high-rigidity section of the vehicle front pillar. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar, the rear half portion can be prevented from being deformed by the colliding impact and thereby can retain the shape of the passenger compartment.
The present invention also provides a vehicle front pillar of a substantial tubular shape which comprises: inner and outer frame members, the inner frame member including: a fore half portion oriented toward the front of the vehicle and formed into a thin wall structure so as to serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar for absorbing an impact force applied from ahead of the vehicle; and a rear half portion oriented toward the back of the vehicle and formed into a thick-wall closed sectional structure so as to serve as a high-rigidity section of the vehicle front pillar; and an interior reinforcing stiffener fixed between the inner and outer frame members and extending between fore and rear ends of the inner and outer frame members, the stiffener having at least one bent portion to provide an additional shock absorbing section.
For better understanding of the object and other features of the present invention, its preferred embodiments will be described in greater detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Note that the terms “fore” or “front”, “rear” or “back”, “left”, “right”, “upper” and “lower” are used herein to refer to various directions as viewed from a driver or human operator of the vehicle sitting behind a steering wheel.
The inner frame member 21 of the front pillar 20 projects toward a passenger compartment 29 of the vehicle 10 and has a fore flange portion 21a lying substantially parallel to the front windshield glass 15. The abovementioned first and second bent portions 23 and 24 of the inner frame member 21 are formed by curving or bulging the fore portion 22, extending rearward from the fore flange portion 21a, outwardly away from the passenger compartment 29. The rear portion 25 of the inner frame member 21, extending rearward from the rear end of the fore portion 22 and reinforced with the reinforcing member 26, has a rear flange portion 21b lying from the rear end of the rear portion 25 substantially parallel to the door glass 17. It is preferred that the inner frame member 21 be formed by bending or extruding a metal material such as steel or aluminum alloy.
The above-mentioned reinforcing member 26 includes a first reinforcing plate 27 secured to the surface of the rear portion 25 of the inner frame member 21, and a second reinforcing plate 28 having its fore and rear ends 28a and 28b secured to the fore end 27a and middle portion 27b, respectively, of the first reinforcing plate 27. The first and second reinforcing plates 27 and 28, joined together in this manner, together form the closed cross-sectional shape as mentioned above. The reinforcing member 26 also has a rear flange portion 26a that is secured between the rear flange portion 21b of the inner frame member 21 and a rear flange portion 33 (to be described later) of the outer frame member 30. It is preferable that each of the first and second reinforcing plates 27 and 28 have a greater thickness than the inner and outer frame members 21 and 30.
Namely, with the first and second bent portions 23 and 24, the fore half portion of the front pillar 20 can serve as the shock absorbing section 20a. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides with the front pillar 20 from ahead of the vehicle 10 as arrowed in
Further, because the cushioning deformation of the fore portion 22 can be promoted by just forming the first and second bent portions 23 and 24 on the inner-frame fore portion 22 of the front pillar 20, the advantageous shock-absorbing front pillar 20 can be produced relatively easily.
Furthermore, with the reinforcing member 26 having the closed cross-sectional shape, the rear portion 25 of the inner frame member 21 can be reinforced to a sufficient degree and can serve as the high-rigidity section 20b. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides lides against with the front pillar 20, the rear portion 25 of the inner frame member 21 can be reliably prevented from being deformed by the colliding impact force and thereby retain the shape of the passenger compartment 29.
The outer frame member 30 has an outward bulge 31 remote from the passenger compartment 29. The outer frame member 30 also has a fore flange portion 32 extending from the fore end of the outward bulge 31 substantially parallel to the front windshield glass 15, and the above-mentioned rear flange portion 33 extending from the rear end of the outward bulge 31 substantially parallel to the door glass 17. The outer frame member 30 opens in the inward direction CL (i.e., toward the longitudinal center line of the vehicle body). The outward bulge 31 is curved relatively deeply to provide a bottom 34 facing the outside. The outward bulge 31 of the outer frame member 30 also has a fore portion 35 curved rearward for attachment thereto of a garnish 40.
The outer frame member 30 is fixed to the inner frame member 21 by joining its fore flange portion 32 to the fore flange portion 21a of the inner frame member 21 and joining its rear flange portion 33, via the flange portion 26a of the reinforcing member 26, to the rear flange portion 21b of the inner frame member 21. It is preferred that the outer frame member 30 as well be formed by bending or extruding a metal material such as steel or aluminum alloy.
The garnish 40 has an inner lip portion 41 abutted against the outer surface of the front windshield glass 15, an outer lip portion 42 abutted against the outer surface of the outward bulge 31, and a central fitting portion 43 having a plurality of clip portions (only one of which is shown in the figure) 44 that are snap-fitted through the fore portion 35 so as to mount the garnish 40 on the outward bulge 31. The garnish 40 thus mounted covers the fore portion 35 to enhance the appearance of the front pillar 20. The garnish 40 is preferably formed of resin, such as polyvinyl chloride, so that it can be easily deformed by a colliding impact applied from ahead of the vehicle 10.
In the illustrated example of
Operation of the vehicle front pillar 20 will now be described with reference to
More specifically,
By the above-described construction and operation, the front pillar 20 of the invention can sufficiently absorb the colliding impact force and thereby sufficiently alleviate the impact on the external object 250. In addition, the high-rigidity section 20b of the front pillar 20, which is reinforced with the reinforcing member 26 of the closed sectional structure, can still retain the necessary rigidity of the rear portion 25 of the inner frame member 21 despite the colliding impact force, and thus prevent unwanted deformation of the passenger compartment 29.
The following paragraphs describe second and third embodiments of the present invention, using the same reference numerals to represent the same elements as in the above-described first embodiment.
In contrast to the conventional front pillar of
The front pillar 60 in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention operates as follows. When an obstacle or external object collides with the garnish 40 of the front pillar 60 from ahead of the vehicle 10 as arrowed in
Thus, the front pillar 60 can sufficiently absorb the colliding impact force and thereby sufficiently alleviate the impact on the external object. In addition, the high-rigidity section 20b of the front pillar 60, which is reinforced with the reinforcing pipe 62 of the closed sectional structure, can still retain the necessary rigidity of the rear portion 25 of the inner frame member despite the collision, and thus prevent unwanted deformation of the passenger compartment 29.
The shock absorbing section 70a has an inner thin wall portion 71 extending forward from the fore end of the high-rigidity section 70b, and a fore flange portion 72 extending forward from the fore end of the inner thin wall portion 71 substantially in parallel to a front windshield glass 15. The shock absorbing section 70a also has a fore thin wall portion 73 running outward (i.e., away from the interior of the vehicle) from the fore flange portion 72, and an outer thin wall portion 74 running between the fore thin wall portion 73 and the high-rigidity section 70b provided rearwardly of the shock absorbing section 70a. The inner thin wall portion 71 has first and second bent portions 71b and 71c formed by forming an outward bulge 71a.
Namely, the fore half portion of the front pillar 70 can be made to serve as the shock absorbing, section 70a, by forming the fore half portion into a thin wall structure and forming the first and second bent portions 71b and 71c. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides with the front pillar 70 from ahead of the vehicle 10, the first and second bent portions 71b and 71c can be deformed relatively easily, with a substantial cushion effect, by the colliding impact force. As a consequence, the colliding impact force can be absorbed effectively, and the impact on the external object can be alleviated to a sufficient degree.
The high-rigidity section 70b has an inner thick wall portion 76 running rearwardly from the rear end of the inner thin wall portion 71, a rear flange portion 77 extending forward from the rear end of the inner thick wall portion 76 substantially in parallel to the door glass 17. The high-rigidity section 70b also has an outer thick wall portion 78 running outward (i.e., away from the interior of the vehicle) from the rear flange portion 77, and a thick partition portion 79. With these wall portions, the high-rigidity section 70b is formed into the closed sectional structure.
The high-rigidity section 70b, thus formed into the closed sectional structure of a great wall thickness, can enhance the rigidity of the front pillar 70 without requiring a separate reinforcing member welded to the inner frame member as in the first and second embodiments. Thus, it is possible to reduce the total number of necessary component parts constituting the front pillar 70. Further, because the operations for welding the reinforcing member are not necessary, the front pillar 70 can be manufactured without requiring a long time. Furthermore, the high-rigidity section 70b, thus formed into the closed sectional structure of a great wall thickness, can be prevented from being deformed by an external object colliding with the front pillar 70; thus, the passenger compartment 29 can retain its original shape despite the collision of the external object with the front pillar 70.
Whereas the first and second embodiments of the present invention have been described above as forming the first and second bent portions 23 and 24 by curving or bulging the fore portion 22 of the inner frame member outwardly away from the interior of the vehicle 10, the first and second bent portions 23 and 24 may be formed by curving the fore portion 22 inwardly toward the interior of the vehicle 10. Further, although the garnish 40 has been described as being formed of resin, such as polyvinyl chloride, the garnish 40 may be formed of any other suitable material, as long as it can be deformed by an obstacle or external object colliding with the front pillar to effectively absorb the colliding impact force.
Furthermore, the third embodiment has been described as integrally forming the front pillar 70 by extrusion; however, the shock-absorbing section 70a and high-rigidity section 70b may be first formed separately by extrusion and then welded together. Moreover, whereas the first and second bent portions 71b and 71c in the third embodiment have been described as being formed on the inner thin wall portion 71, such bent portions may not be formed on any other suitable position than the inner thin wall portion 71. Further, the number of the bent portions may be smaller or greater than two, as long as the bent portion or portions can function as an effective shock absorbing function.
In case an obstacle or external object collides with the front pillar 120 from ahead of the vehicle 10, the inner-frame fore portion 122 can be deformed, with a substantial cushion effect, with the first and second bent portions 123 and 124, constituting the shock absorbing section 120a on the fore portion 122 of the front pillar 120, further bent by the colliding impact force. Such cushioning deformation of the inner-frame fore portion 122 can effectively absorb the colliding impact force and thereby alleviate the impact on the external object.
Further, because the deformation of the fore portion 122 can be promoted by just forming the first and second bent portions 123 and 124 on the fore portion 122 of the front pillar 120, the shock-absorbing front pillar 120 can be produced relatively easily.
Furthermore, with the rear portion 125 of the inner frame member 121 reinforced with the reinforcing pipe 127 having the closed cross-sectional shape, the rear portion 125 of the inner frame member 121 can serve as the high-rigidity section 120b. Thus, when an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar 120, the front pillar 120 can effectively prevent the rear portion 125 of the inner frame member 121 from being deformed by the colliding impact and thereby retain the shape of the passenger compartment 29.
It should also be obvious that the front pillar 120 of
Further,
The front pillar 160 of
Namely, the front pillar 160 according to the fifth embodiment is different from the front pillar 120 according to the fourth embodiment in that the reinforcing pipe 162 has the rectangular cross-sectional shape rather than the circular cross-sectional shape. Because of the rectangular cross-sectional shape, the reinforcing pipe 162 of
The front pillar 160 in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the invention operates as follows. When an obstacle or external object collides with the garnish 40 of the front pillar 160 from ahead of the vehicle 10 as arrowed in
Further, in
The front pillar 170 of
When an obstacle or external object collides with the garnish 40 of the front pillar 170 from ahead of the vehicle as arrowed in
Whereas the fourth to sixth embodiments of the present invention have been described as forming the first and second bent portions of the inner-frame fore portion by curving the fore portion outwardly away from the interior of the vehicle, these first and second bent portions may be formed by curving the inner-frame fore portion inwardly toward the interior of the vehicle. Further, whereas the inner-frame rear portion has been described above as reinforced with a reinforcing pipe or reinforced by being formed into a great wall thickness, it may be reinforced in any other suitable manner.
In summary, according to one aspect of the present invention, the fore half portion of the front pillar has at least one bent portion to serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar. Thus, in case an obstacle or external object collides with the front pillar, the fore half portion of the front pillar can be deformed, with a substantial cushion effect, with the bent portion further bent by the colliding impact force. Such cushioning deformation of the fore half portion can effectively absorb the colliding impact force and thereby alleviate the impact on the external object. Further, with the reinforcing member of the closed sectional structure attached to the rear portion of the front pillar, the rear half portion can serve as a high-rigidity section for retaining the rigidity of the front pillar. Thus, when an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar, the rear half portion can be prevented from being deformed by the colliding impact and thereby can retain the shape of the passenger compartment despite the collision. As a consequence, the present invention can sufficiently alleviate the impact on the external object while still retaining the necessary rigidity of the front pillar.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the fore half portion of the front pillar is formed into a thin wall structure so as serve as a shock absorbing section of the vehicle front pillar. When an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar, the fore half portion of the front pillar can be deformed with the thin wall structure bent by the colliding impact force. Such cushioning deformation of the fore portion can effectively absorb the colliding impact to thereby alleviate the impact on the external object. Further, by forming the rear portion of the front pillar formed into a thick-wall closed sectional structure, the rear portion can serve as a high-rigidity section of the vehicle front pillar. Thus, when an obstacle or external object collides against with the front pillar, the rear portion can be prevented from being deformed by the colliding impact and thereby can retain the shape of the passenger compartment despite the collision. As a consequence, the present invention can sufficiently alleviate the impact on the external object while still retaining the necessary rigidity of the front pillar.
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